This weekly briefing is available on demand and will cover hot topics and current enforcement actions related to white collar crime and criminal investigations in the US and abroad to arm you with the information you need to start your business week. 18 October – This week’s discussion will cover the following: 1) January 6 Commission and possible prosecution of Steve Bannon for contempt; and 2)SEC Enforcement Director Grewal’s speech on appropriate approaches to compliance, proactive enforcement, electronic message retention/production, cooperation, and civil penalties.
This episode goes over the final four fundamental elements of the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s guidelines. These elements are: personnel should have accurate books and accounting records, human resource management policies complementary to anti-bribery measures, companies should have communication mechanisms that encourage the reporting of the suspicion of bribery (whistleblowing), and companies need to review and evaluate anti-bribery prevention measures and their effectiveness.
China has strengthened its commitment to investigate commercial bribery offenses, as indicated by two recent legislative developments — Guiding Opinions on Establishing a Mechanism for Third-party Supervision and Evaluation of the Compliance of Enterprises Involved in Cases (for Trial Implementation) (“Third-Party Mechanism Guiding Opinions,” 《关于建立涉案企业合规第三方监督评估机制的指导意见（试行）》, issued in June 2021) and Opinions on Further Promoting the Investigation of Bribery and Acceptance of Bribes (“Opinions on Dual Investigations,” 《关于进一步推进受贿行贿一起查的意见》, issued in September 2021). These significant developments indicate China’s latest enforcement trends with a renewed focus on bribe givers and commercial bribery, while balancing the need to protect legitimate business interests.
This episode goes over the first two fundamental elements of the National Anti-Corruption Commission’s guidelines. The first guidance is where companies’ internal control measures should be strong, visible policies and supported by top-level management to prevent bribery. The second guidance is that companies should conduct risk assessments to effectively identify and evaluate exposure to bribery to government officials.
On 14 September 2021, the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the US Federal Trade Commission issued a Joint Statement on antitrust enforcement regarding collaborative relief efforts after Hurricane Ida. The Statement recognizes that collaboration among companies – even among competitors – may be necessary and beneficial to assist communities with rebuilding and relief efforts. However, the Statement also makes clear that neither agency will tolerate attempts to subvert competition laws or engage in illegal conduct under the guise of disaster recovery.
The privilege against self-incrimination has long been a feature of Australia’s common law and recognises the important concept that individuals should not be compelled to incriminate themselves. The privilege has also been protected by legislation, including in sections 128 & 128A of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth). A recent High Court decision in Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Zu Neng Shi [2021] HCA 22 considered whether disclosure of privileged information was in the interests of justice.
The Supervisors Law of the People’s Republic of China was recently promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 20 August 2021. Together with other legislation and enforcement activities, the Supervisors Law aims to strengthen President Xi’s anti-corruption campaign and is scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2022.
In this episode, Charles Thomson and Henry Garfield, partners in Baker McKenzie’s dispute resolution practice in London, talk to Kate Geale about recent developments, legal issues, practical tips, and strategies around cross-border fraud and asset tracing in sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). The episode also tackles emerging trends around the growing emphasis on sustainability and the increasing impact of cryptoassets.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently released its Consultation Conclusions Paper (“Consultation Conclusions”) on Implementation of Mandatory Reference Checking Scheme (“MRC Scheme”) to Address the “Rolling Bad Apples” Phenomenon.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently released a consultation (“Consultation”) on its “Proposed Amendments to MAS’ Investigative and Other Powers under the Various Acts.” The amendments, to be introduced through the Financial Institutions (“Miscellaneous Amendments”) Bill (“proposed provisions”), will expand the supervisory and enforcement powers of the MAS under the following acts: Banking Act (BA); Credit Bureau Act; Financial Advisers Act (FAA); Insurance Act (IA); Payment Services Act (PS Act); Securities and Futures Act (SFA); Trust Companies Act (TCA); and the upcoming new omnibus Act (“new Act”) for the financial sector (collectively, “relevant Acts”).